subject: Windows 7 - How To Upgrade [print this page] Windows 7 - How To Upgrade Windows 7 - How To Upgrade
On the surface Windows 7 is very similar to Window Vista and XP. If you choose to upgrade there is no need to purchase new hardware as the driver model is the same so hardware is compatible. However once you get under the hood there are some notable differences.
Compared to Windows Vista, Windows 7 is far more efficient. It uses less memory, is faster, more reliable and less space on your hard drive is required.
There have been some nice tweaks to the interface also. The Taskbar allows users to compete their regular tasks with increased efficiency and speed.The Aero Snap feature allows dragging of a window to the side of the screen to auto shrink it to half of it's previous size. For users who have windscreens this is a great help.
A nice change from Windows XP is that widgets can rest anywhere in the desktop instead of the sidebar which has now been dropped. Some other improvements include a smarter looking fonts list, instantly viewable widgets by correct positioning of the mouse, increased control over the notification area, small icons on the taskbar that can jump up to allow you to see running programs and an option to run a slide show on the desktop background.
Organizing and searching is a lot more straightforward with a much improved Windows Search. The Vista Search was a little troublesome. Security is a lot tighter. User Account Control has improved since Vista with some of the bugs being ironed out.
There is more support for different media files and at the ready interfaces, such as Calculator, Wordpad and Paint have been updated.
Overall it is a worthy Microsoft release that is a step up from Windows 7 and Vista. However if you are considering a Windows 7 install and are currently using Windows XP it may be wise to stick with it for the time being as Windows 7 needs a high tech graphics card so your Windows XP machine may not be able to cope with it's demands. Also it may be difficult to find all the Windows 7 drivers you require for your hardware.
Another issue is the upgrade itself. There is no way to make the shift without having to clear your hard-drive first, which can be painstaking, having to back up everything and then reinstall.
